


Scavenging

by electric016



Category: Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Post-VLR, Skeletons, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21950452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electric016/pseuds/electric016
Summary: Post VLR, Tenmyouji and Quark are finally getting back to normal. As such, Tenmyouji suggests Quark try leading his own scavenging trip.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22
Collections: ZEcret Santa 2019





	Scavenging

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the 2019 Zecret Santa fic exchange for gaulemtypefemale-dm-l-016 on Tumblr who asked for "Junpei and Quark life after VLR." Sorry if this got a little weird :"D

It had been about four months since the end of the Nonary Game and life with the Tenmyoujis had finally returned to normal. Even after the excitement of the moon and a second Nonary Game, there were still chores to be done and scrap to scavenge.

“Quark!” Tenmyouji called out, “Are you up yet? We need to get going.”

“Coming, grandpa!” came the disgruntled and tired voice behind his grandson’s door.

“You’re going to miss breakfast!” Tenmyouji called again, cracking a couple of eggs into the frying pan.

“I’m  _ coming _ !” 

Tenmyoji smirked to himself, knowing that before long he’d have a teenager to contend with. The thought was simultaneously amusing and terrifying as hell. 

The door to Quark’s bedroom creaked open. The boy emerged mostly dressed. He wore a khaki pair of shorts and a t-shirt. His arm was in one sleeve of a jacket.

“Finally. I thought I was going to have to eat all of this by myself.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I don’t know, I’m feeling pretty peckish.”

Quark slumped into a chair by the kitchen table, leaning his head in his arms and muttered something in audible.

“What was that?”

“I’m going to eat them!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Tenmyouji placed a plate of eggs and toast and beans before his grandson. He knew he’d perk up a bit once he’d had some food. Mornings had always been a bit of a struggle with the boy, and Tenmyouji had a sneaking suspicion they’d only get worse the closer they got to Quark’s teenage years.

He joined his grandson at the table with a matching plate of food and a hot drink he’d like to say was coffee, in that it was dark and brown and bitter, but was actually a rather horrible root tea. He did enjoy the warmth and habit of it though.

“Where are we going today?” Quark asked, shoving a piece of toast in his mouth.

Tenmyouji put his fork down. “Well, I was thinking of maybe trying something different today,” he said slowly.

“Yeah?” Quark asked, looking curious.

Tenmyouji nodded. “I’ve been thinking. I’m not getting any younger and I might like to start thinking about retirement. Now don’t give me that face, nothing to get worried about. I’m just thinking an extra day off or two every week might be nice.”

“What does that mean?” Quark inquired, studying his grandpa incredulously.

“Well, what do you say you go out by yourself today? No supervision. I won’t be breathing down your neck or micromanaging what you find. I trust you.” 

“What? Really?”   
  
“Sure! You’ve been at this for how many years now? I think it’s time for a promotion.”

Quark immediately perked up--it was as if his sleepiness were totally forgotten. “So where should I go?”

“Hmmm.” Tenmyouji took a swig of his tea. “Where would you suggest going if you were in charge?”

“Well.” Quark looked thoughtful, scratching the back of his neck as he thought. “There’s that old food processing plant in the next town over we saw last time we were there. I could start there.”

“Yes, I suppose you could. It’s an awful long walk though.”

“What? Aren’t you going to give me a ride?”

“Nope. I’m going to be enjoying my day off here.”

“Can I drive the truck then?” Quark asked eagerly.

“How are you going to push the pedals and steer at the same time? Nice try, kiddo. Maybe once you’ve got a bit more height on you.”

“Aww. So I guess somewhere I can walk to, huh?”

“Unless you’re planning on hitchhiking.” Quark opened his mouth. “I’m kidding. You’re absolutely not hitchhiking.”

“Well. In that case, there’s that old abandoned radio station. That might be a good spot to start with.”

“That’s not a bad idea at all.” Tenmyouji rubbed his chin. “I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone else having gone through it. I think that’d be a good place to start.”

After cleaning up breakfast and feeding the chickens, Quark got packed up to go out on his mission. 

He looked a little as if he were about to set off for school, and it gave Tenmyouji a weird sense of misplaced nostalgia. 

“Alright, you got everything you need?”

“Yes, Grandpa!” 

“You got your lunch?”

“In my pack.”

“Radio transmitter?”

“Over and out,” Quark said pulling the radio out of his pocket and speaking directly into it.

“Okay. I think you’re set. If you run into any trouble, be sure to give me a call. Or you can give Red or Marco a call if they’re in range. But don’t bug them unless you need to.” 

“Okay. What are you going to do today?”

“Hmm. Well I might drop off a loaf of bread with Clover and Alice and see how they’re doing. But mostly I think I’m going to catch up on some reading.”

“Sounds good! Tell them I said hi!”

“Will do, kiddo. Take care now.”

“Bye, Grandpa! See you later!”

\--

Quark set out with a spring in his step. It was a good feeling, knowing his grandpa trusted him enough to send him out to work by himself, and quark was confident he’d be perfectly fine by himself. Really it wasn’t too much different than usual. Usually they’d travel together to a scavenging location, and then split up. They’d meet up for lunch and then go back to scavenging.

Quark enjoyed scavenging with his grandpa--well at least when he wasn’t getting in trouble for messing around. He liked when Tenmyouji found something particularly interesting or unique, he would call Quark over and explain exactly what it was and how it worked and how it could be used to turn a profit. 

The novelty of striking out on his own was still fresh; however, so he was really looking forward to being totally in control.

The abandoned radio station was only about a 45-minute walk from their home. Three of the station’s call sign remained: K LV. Quark decided it must have been a Q. Ever since he was a kid, he always enjoyed recognizing his initial on buildings and signage. Q for Quark.

Breaking in was fairly easy. It seemed a lot of offices and commercial buildings weren’t secured during the radical-6 outbreak. They found so many that were simply left unlocked and ready to be explored.

Tenmyouji had trained Quark well and he knew the first thing he had to do was check for signs that the building might not be safe to enter. But this one seemed to be structurally sound.

Quark pulled his lantern from his backpack and switched it on, illuminating the hallway before him. The halls were dark and musty, dust floated up through the air as he entered. An ancient fire escape map on the wall gave him his bearings, outlining where there server rooms were and where he was likely to find the sound equipment. 

He was aware from a theoretical standpoint that fear of the dark was pretty common, and he liked to tell himself that he wasn’t afraid of the dark at all. Why would someone who spent their life exploring dark rooms and who found a thrill in discovering the most remote nooks and crannies be afraid? The truth of course was that he still felt a little flutter of anxiety whenever he entered a new room.

Steeling himself, he turned the handle to the recording room. 

“Huh,” Quark said aloud to himself, filling the hallway with the sound of his voice. “Won’t budge.” He turned the handle again and shoved his shoulder against the door. But still it remained stuck.

“Guess this calls for a little back up.” 

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small crowbar. Wedging it between the door and frame, he leaned his weight against the metal. 

Finally the door gave way and there was a whoosh of air as the seal on the room was broken and the pressure between rooms equalized. 

He stood in the doorway, an apprehensive chill going up his spine and shone his lantern into the room. The light bounced off the large glass window in front of the control panel. There was a work chair turned slightly towards him and it gave him a start when he realized it held the remains of a slumped skeleton.

Quark was used to seeing skeletons. He knew many of them were victims of the radical-6 outbreak. He knew it was harder for his grandpa to see the skeletons and be reminded of what it was like to live through the fall of humanity. For Quark they were relics of a bygone age. Sad, but no more sad than a mummy in a museum. They did startle him every now and again though. 

“Sorry to bother you,” Quark addressed the skeleton. “I hope you don’t mind, I’m just coming in to collect some parts.” His grandpa had taught him that the line between life and death is thin. Sometimes the only thing that decided what side you were on was chance. It was important to always be respectful of the dead.

“This is a pretty interesting set up you have here,” Quark told the skeleton, setting his lantern on the ground, and pulling out an additional flashlight from his bag. “I have a small radio, but it’s nowhere near as powerful as what you had going on here. I mostly just use it for calling people. Grandpa said you used to play music from here all across the city. We’re not allowed to do that anymore.” Quark affected a mocking adult voice, “‘Public radio stations are for official use only.’ They only play boring things like news and public service announcements. I think it’d be much cooler if they played music.”

Quark situated himself on the floor beside a control panel and pulled off the metal grating. “Ah yeah, I should be able to get a lot of good stuff from this. Thanks for keeping an eye on it for me.”

As Quark got to work he continued chatting to the remains in the chair, “You know, this is my first job out all by myself? Usually I travel with my grandpa. But he trusted me to go out by myself this time.” He glanced over to the skeleton. “I know he’s not telling me exactly what happened on the moon--oh yeah! I went to the moon recently. 

“It’s a bit of a long story. Originally Grandpa thought we were going to meet an old friend of his, so we got all dressed up and everything, but then it turned out it was this weird game. It was actually kind of scary, but I didn’t want anyone to think I was a baby.”

He was silent for a moment, working through a tangle of wires. “You know, I think something bad might have happened to me up there. Apparently we were all infected with radical-6, and Grandpa said it was fine, but I don’t know. I was asleep for a lot of what happened. I think maybe it made me sicker than he wants me to know.”

Quark was quiet again. Working in the dark room by the light of his lantern and flashlight. 

“Actually, I think he’s still worried about me,” Quark confided to the skeleton. “He’s been a little more overprotective, and it’s very nice of him, but to be honest it’s been a little annoying. I know he feels guilty about the whole thing, but I wish he wouldn’t. I don’t remember anything bad happening, so it’s all fine, right?”

The skeleton didn’t respond, but Quark said, “I know, I should probably be telling him this, huh?”

Still no response from the skeleton. 

“Yeah, you’re right. But Grandpa can be so awkward about feelings.” Quark sighed.

“No, you’re right, it’s still better to say something. But it’s still a good sign that he’s sending me out on my own, isn't it? Maybe it means he’s getting over it.”

Quark sat back. “Okay well I think I’m good with everything here for now. Maybe I’ll come back on my day off, but I want to have a look at some of the other rooms while I’m here. Thank you for your company!”

Quark zipped up his bag and hauled it back onto his back. He briefly placed his hands together in a quick gesture of prayer for the skeleton, then headed on to the next room. 

\--

When Quark got home that evening his pack was full of useful wires and connectors. He was feeling pretty satisfied with his haul. 

“Grandpa! I’m home!”

“Hey! Welcome back! How’d you do?”

“Really great! I found so much stuff! Do you want to take a look?”

“Hmmm. No, I think I’m good. How about tomorrow we go into town and you can try your hand at bartering? I’ll come along as your back-up of course. But I trust you. I know you did well.” He ruffled his grandson’s hair. 

“Sounds good! And then do you want to go back to the radio station the day after?”

“I think maybe that day we can head out to the food processing facility. You can save the radio station for my days off.”

“Okay!”

“Alright, now go wash up and you can help me cook dinner.”

“Hey, Grandpa?”

“Hm?”

“I just wanted to say, thanks for trusting me to go out on my own. I know you’re really worried about me, especially after the Nonary Game, but I really am fine.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you.” He gave his grandpa a quick hug, then darted off to the bathroom to wash up.

Tenmyouji was bemused, but relieved. After the Nonary Game he’d been so worried that Quark would have come away from the experience clingy and paranoid. And truth be told--that was probably just a projection of his own feelings. Quark seemed fairly unfazed by the whole situation having been asleep for the most terrifying portions of it. 

He was glad Quark seemed so thrilled with having this new opportunity for independence. Listening to Quark babble away about the adventures of his day, it sounded like he was happy to have the time to himself. And in his whole long life, there was only one truth that he had found to be absolute. When Quark was happy, he was happy. 


End file.
